State rep. charged with sex assault of teen girl

PORTSMOUTH — A Republican state representative is charged with sexually assaulting and assaulting a girl in Portsmouth, Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway announced Friday.

In a press release, Conway announced Eric Schleien, 29, of Hudson, is charged with one misdemeanor count of sexual assault and two misdemeanor counts of simple assault. She said the charges stem from a July 2016 incident and the alleged victim was a 16-year-old girl.

The Portsmouth Police Department conducted the investigation and the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office will prosecute in Rockingham Superior Court, Conway said. Schleien has not yet been scheduled for arraignment, she added.

Through Concord attorney Seth Hipple, Schleien released the following statement: "Mr. Schleien vehemently denies these allegations. It is important to note that these charges are misdemeanors and do not allege that there was any sort of violence or threats. Mr. Schleien has pleaded not guilty, is cooperating with the process, and expects to be fully vindicated."

According to Portsmouth's public police log, Schleien, of 26 Pine Road Unit A, Hudson, was arrested April 21 for the three charges. An affidavit by police Sgt. Rebecca Hester, filed May 31 with the Portsmouth Circuit Court, describes the underlying allegations.

The detective reported to the court that the girl went to the Portsmouth police station July 23, 2016, to report Schleien had committed the alleged crimes. The girl told the detective they met two days earlier at an Exeter cafe where they talked about politics, a career which interests the girl. She said Schleien suggested they exchange phone numbers "and that he could introduce her to other working politicians and help her network and further her political ambition," the detective wrote.

The police affidavit states the two exchanged text messages and met the following day at the same Exeter cafe, then he drove them to Portsmouth. The girl told police they went to Prescott Park where Schleien engaged in sexually explicit conversation, that made her "uncomfortable," but she "wanted to stay on his good side because she had no other way to get back to Exeter," the affidavit states.

They later went to a Portsmouth restaurant where Schleien continued talking about sexual matters, including telling the girl sexual things he wanted to do to her, police allege. The girl told police she texted a friend from the restaurant about how uncomfortable it made her and her phone records included those texts, according to the police report.

The girl told police she "faked a phone call" and said she had to return to Exeter so they would leave, according to the court record. When they got to Schleien's car in the High-Hanover parking garage, the affidavit states, he groped her and she told him to stop. While driving, Schleien touched the girl in a sexual manner under her dress, according to the police report.

A text message from the girl to a friend said she was "scared," according to the affidavit.

Schleien was initially charged in the Portsmouth Circuit Court where Hipple entered not guilty pleas on his behalf and waived an arraignment. The charges were heard in the Rockingham County Superior Court on Thursday, Conway said.

Conway declined to discuss details of the case, saying she wants to ensure Schleien's rights are protected and the alleged victim's privacy is maintained. She said Schleien is ordered to have no contact with the girl.

Gov. Chris Sununu said, "Sexual assault will not be tolerated in New Hampshire, and I applaud the authorities for taking aggressive action to fully investigate these disturbing allegations."

House Speaker Shawn Jasper released the following statement in response to the announcement of Schleien's arrest:

“Anytime one of our members faces charges such as these we take it very seriously. The fact that the accusations against Rep. Schleien involve a 16-year-old girl is very disturbing, to say the least. But we need not rush to judgement until the investigation is concluded and Rep. Schleien has had his day in court. Obviously if the charges are proven true, I would expect the representative from Hudson to resign from the House immediately.”

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